Second Chance
by Jo Yonder
Summary: Regina wakes up atop of a hill with no memory of who she was or where she came from. Setting out on a journey to regain her memories, she soon learns of who she really was and why her memories were taken away.
1. Chapter 1- Now

**Now**

First there is nothing. Blackness. Emptiness. The feeling that life is being sucked from my body.

Then, there is everything. Blinding light, wet grass soaking through the clothes on my chest, a faint breeze raising goose bumps on my arms, the sound of twigs and leaves rustling against each other, and the chill of cold stone underneath my right hand.

My eyelids flutter open to a vast grassy field, bordered by a dense forest that reaches far out to the horizon. They dart to the stone my hand is resting on, a tomb. A tomb made of smooth stone, sloping up on two opposite sides to where they meet in a line at the top, creating a pointed arch on the adjacent sides.

My hand quivers slightly before withdrawing its touch. I gaze around at the empty landscape, taking in the scenery. I'm atop a big, lush, green, sloping hill, under a large tree with gnarled branches that dip down where they are millimeters from touching the ground. I watch as a dying leaf clinging on to the end of a twig, trembles before swiftly falling down, twirling and swaying, before gently landing on my shoulder. I stare at it for a moment and lift my hand to brush it off, only for the wind swell and sweep it off tumbling away. In the distance, I can see a small abandoned wooden stable, showing signs of time long gone by, with planks fallen back and rafters poking out from a crumbling roof.

I gaze down at it and before I know it, my feet are flying down the hill, carrying me to the stable. Up close, it's visible that it is void of all signs of life, minus a small rat that scurries past my feet and into a hole in the corner. A large hole in the ceiling lets in a large beam of light illuminating a row of empty horse stables.

I look around, feeling an unnerving void within myself. The void that should be filled with memories. Memories that define who I am. I rack my brain, trying to remember something. Anything. It's that odd moment when you feel that something is supposed to be there, but there isn't. The odd moment that leaves your arms tingling and your chest tight, as if someone were trying to squeeze the life out of you.

I don't know how long I stand at the entrance of the crumbling building, gazing down at the stable, intrigued by it, pondering its past and its history, when I see a large band of fifty or so figures emerge from the woods about half a mile away. I immediately step into the shelter of the stable and peer out from a crack in the wall.

_Maybe they can help, _I tell myself, feeling uneasy. I hold my ground and watch as they approach shouting something unintelligible. But as the figures get closer, I begin to make out who they actually are. Knights, in glistening silver armor wielding bows and swords, all riding magnificent steeds.

I watch as they ride on by, completely trotting pass the stable with not as much as a glance in its direction. Then a knight at the back in the back of the band turns his head and I jump back from the crack.

"Do you think we ought to check this one?" He says.

"Do you think that she'd be here? This would be the last place I'd be if I were hiding," A deep throaty voice says.

"Are you sure-"

"Queen's orders say we find her as soon as possible before she can do any more harm to this land. We're wasting time here. Let's go," the voice says firmly, followed by the thud of horse hooves galloping away. I crouch down until I'm certain they're gone and peek out the crack, confirming they're gone.

I stand up and walk back out into the field, staring at the trampled grass where the horses stood. I blink at it for a moment. Who were they? I shudder as I the absence of memories chills me to the core. I walk slowly to the place where they emerged t the edge of the woods and peer in as far as my eyes can see.

Trees. Huge thick trees shooting up to the sky topped by a bright green canopy of leaves and branches. I take one last glance back over my shoulder at the stable and tomb at the top of the hill before stepping into forest.

Before I can take the time to adjust to the change of scenery, I'm immediately startled by an arrow that whistles past my face and burrows itself into the trunk of a tree next to me.

"Don't move," I hear a voice behind me say. "That was your warning shot."

I stop in my tracks and slowly turn my head. A tall man with scruffy brown hair stands about ten feet away holding up a bow, with its arrow aimed right at me. Something in me wants to scream and dart and freak out and all that stuff you're supposed to do when you're staring death in the face. Instead I say flatly, "Excuse me?"

_Stupid. What. Ugh. Maybe I should run. Even if he shoots me I should run. Wait, who is this? Maybe I've met him before and we're friends. Wait, no, because then he wouldn't be threatening to kill me. Ugh, I can't remember anything!_

The man pulls back his bow tighter, trembling. "Don't move." He says again. I can see him shaking even more. He takes a step closer and I take a step back. "What do you have to say before I kill you?"

"Who are you?" I say, already going against my instincts to bolt, knowing it would earn me an arrow in the back.

The man takes another step closer. "I am Robin Hood. You've killed so many." His face is pained as he says these words. He takes in a deep breath, "Now it's my turn to have justice." He pulls his bow back and aims.

"Please no!" I scream, falling back onto the floor, catching myself with my arms. I crab walk backwards as he steps forward. Tears are in my eyes and my legs are jelly. I hold out my hand, pleading for him to spare me. "I haven't done anything!"

"YOU HAVEN'T DONE ANYTHING?!" He roars.

"I swear I don't know what's going on! I don't know who you are! I don't even know who I am…I don't remember anything! Please, I don't know what's going on…" I cry out, the words tumbling from my mouth. "Please, I can't remember anything…"

He doesn't put his bow down and continues to point it at me, his face contorted in a mixture of anger and sadness. He stands motionless and I can see the wheels turning in his head. "It's a trick. And I'm not falling for it."

"Please, I don't know what's going on," I say desperately. It comes out as almost a whisper with gasps in between words. He stares down at me as if expecting me to jump out at him and kill him with a magical sword that appears in my hands out of nowhere.

He's definitely going to kill me now. He pulls his bow back one more time and I close my eyes. I hear him shout a battle cry and I prepare to die. But then I hear a thud in the ground next to me. Quivering, I slowly open my eyes and see the arrow protruding from the dirt next to me. I look up at the man. What did he say his name was? I've already forgotten. He looks down, eyeing me. "Do you really not know what you've done?"

"I don't even know who I am," I sputter. "My name, where I'm from…"

"Of course, of course," He says with skepticism in his eyes. He shakes his head in disbelief. "Please tell me this is a sick joke."

"It's not a joke, I-"

"Wow," He says, putting his bow down by his side. "You really don't know what's going on or who you are…." _I just told you that, idiot. _"I can't believe this."

I watch him pace the floor, keeping me in the corner of his eye. He reaches his hand to his face and rubs his brow with his fingers. I don't say anything and just stare at him like a lost creature. He looks up to the sky. "I have just met the Evil Queen and she doesn't remember anything."

"Wait a minute. I'm who?" I ask him, immediately filled with a boatload of questions. Then my brain flashes back to the soldiers back by the abandoned stables. Were they looking for…

"Someone that you shouldn't mess with," He looks down at me on the ground. "Well, I guess you used to be."

I stare at him, unsure of what to say. "Wait, what'd you say your name was?" I say as he retrieves the arrow, inspecting the tip carefully before putting it in the quiver behind his back.

"Robin Hood," he replies, offering a hand to help me up. I accept his strong grip as he pulls me off the floor. "And you're the Evil Queen."

"Evil Queen?" I say, not sure what to make of the words. "Of what?"

"Just the Evil Queen," Robin Hood says, slinging his bow over his shoulder. "I mean just look at yourself." He gestures down at my clothes.

I look down. I'm in a long red dress made of velvet with black lace along the neck and sleeves, which go up and loop over my fingers. The bottom of the gown flows down outward from my hips, in a long rippling skirt. The bottom is torn and caked with dried mud that crumbles off with each step I take.

My eyes dart to Robin Hood's clothing, which pales in comparison to my own. He wears an old dirty shirt with sleeves that hang out from underneath a green vest. He wears leather boots and gloves, with a dark green cape tied around his neck.

I'm speechless for a moment. Robin Hood watches boredly as I wash my eyes over the grand and grimy gown. So I'm a Queen. Wait, an evil one. I blink for a moment. Evil Queen. The word sounds familiar, but at the same time it doesn't.

"Okay," He says, straightening up. He opens his mouth to say something and then closes it just as quickly. I watch him ponder the thought for a moment before he nods his head once, as if he were agreeing with himself, and says, "I'm going now."

My eyes dart up toward him. "Wait what?"

"I'm going," he reiterates, tuning to walk away. He pauses and looks over his shoulder. "And pray we never meet again."

He begins to jog off into the dense forest, his leather boots nimbly stepping over roots protruding from the damp dirt, speckled with the occasional blooming weed and dying shrub.

"Hey, wait!" I call out to him, hearing how shrill my voice is. "What about me? You can't just leave me here!"

He doesn't turn around. What was his name, again? Robin Hood. Robin Hood doesn't turn around or stop and continues to run until he disappears among the pillars of trees. I consider running after him, but then what would I say to him? What would I do?

I slowly walk in the direction he went and stop at a tree, leaning my arm against the rough bark, gazing at the path his feet had taken. I shift my weight between my legs every couple of seconds and glance around anxiously, waiting for something to happen. I imagine Robin Hood suddenly appearing in the distance, running back and apologizing. Then taking me somewhere and tell me who I am.

The Evil Queen.

The words feel strange in my head as I try to grasp what they mean. Evil. Queen. I'm not evil. In fact, I don't even know who I am. Am I a queen? I look down at my tattered dress. Am I evil? Unfortunately, to this I have no answer.

It occurs to me that he could be lying. I consider the thought, but end up even more confused with myself. Evil. Queen. Evil. Queen. Evil. Queen.

I stand still, listening to nothing but the sound of my breathing and birds passing overhead for a long time before my instincts take over. Taking a deep breath, I turn in the direction that Robin Hood ran off and begin to walk, my feet first trudging and dragging along the ground, and then slowly speeding up faster and faster. And before I know it, I'm running and then sprinting off further into the woods, calling out to him.

It's not long before I realize that I'm completely lost. I've already forgotten which way I came from and I have no idea where Robin Hood went. I realize my chances of every meeting him again are small, considering how big this forest is.

I ask myself why I'm even looking for him, but my thoughts are interrupted when I see a clearing in the trees ahead. A road. A long dirt road, stretching to the left for as far as I can see and stretching right for about a quarter of a mile before veering off into the forest. I rush up to it, my heart pounding so loudly in my chest that I can feel my feel my whole torso tremble with each beat.

I realize I'm holding my breath and let out a big burst of air from my lungs in relief. Relief that I know that this path leads somewhere. Maybe I don't need to find Robin Hood anymore. I've got a start. This path is going to lead to the finish. I take a deep breath and am about to begin my journey when I hear a twig snap behind me.

I whirl around just in time to see an object flying towards my head.

Then everything does dark.

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	2. Chapter 2-Now

**I greatly apologize for the long wait. Not really. Maybe. :)**

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**Now**

There's a dull pressure and ringing in my ears as my senses begin to ebb back to life. My arms tingle and I can feel the softness of dirt pressing against my chest and cheek. My arms, feeling like lead, lay limply, my left arm twisted painfully under my side and my right flung out across the ground. A wave of warmth flows through my torso and I become aware of my own breathing, quick and shallow gasps. I suddenly become aware of someone shouting behind me.

"Somebody help! Help!" a voice shrieks. "It's the Evil Queen!"

There's the word again. Evil Queen. Who was that that called me that? What was his name?

"Where are Snow's men? Are they nearby?" Another deeper voice cries out. "She's here!"

I rack my brain, trying to think through the dull throbbing on the right side of my head, just above my brow.

"They were headed east towards some of the villages, but they can't have gone that far from here."

Oh, Robin Hood. That was his name.

"I know that—Hey, do you have your dagger?"

"Yes-"

"Well, what if we just… ended everything right here and now?" the deeper voice says gruffly. "It'd make this a whole lot easier."

Wait, these people also said Evil Queen. But what if they're talking about someone else…

The forest is silent for a moment. "No, Snow said she wanted her-"

"I know, I know. I was just thinking-"

"What if she wakes up and sees us?" The voice hisses back.

Are they talking about me? I think they are, but my brain feels like it's been sloshed around in a bucket and thinking straight is nearly impossible.

"You hit her in the head with a slingshot. She won't be waking up anytime soon," Comes the reply, in a low uneasy voice.

A slingshot. So that's what it was. I become aware of the pulse throbbing in my head, as if a beating heart had been placed there.

"I know, but what if she really does wake up?"

"Oh," The deeper voice replies, "we'll stand up and fight for the kingdom. We're not cowards.-She's here! We've found her! Can anyone hear us?!"

My mind soaks up this information, trying to piece everything together. I try visualize what I can't see. Two men, who I'm assuming knocked me out, are talking with each other about the Evil Queen and one wanted to kill me…

I hear the sound of metal sliding out of a sheath. My heart stops.

"What are you doing?!" I hear someone half-hiss-half-shout. "Give that back!"

I hear the crunching of leaves approach me. "I'm going to save everyone in the kingdom from more trouble. Having her alive means more people suffering. More people dying. Do you remember Stealthy?"

"That doesn't mean that we should-"

"Well, then how many more are we going to lose?" I hear the voice crack a little, then continue on steadily. "Because I'm not going to lose anymore."

"No stop!"

I hear scuffling and a few random exclamations of words that I can't quite make out. I hear something land by my side, but what that thing is, I cannot tell.

I try to move, but my arms lay paralyzed at my sides. I try to kick out my legs and roll over, but my legs are as useless as my arms. I try to open my eyes, but my eyelids remain glued shut, and all I can do is feel my own breath quicken in panicked gasps. Suddenly, I feel my heart explode in a flurry of pounding, sending a tremor of awareness and clarity through my mind and body.

Every nerve in my body lights on fire. My eyes fly open and my back arches as my mouth takes in a gaping breath of dry, dusty air. I'm momentarily blinded by the sunlight and put up my hands to block it, squinting as my eyes begin readjusting to the brightness. I hear someone let out a terrified scream and turn my head around just in time to see that someone instantly bolt off across the road, disappearing into the thicket of trees and undergrowth on the other side.

The other one stands stark still, frozen with the look of sheer and utter terror on his face. His eyes stay fixated on me and I can tell he's holding his breath.

I push myself off the ground, stumbling as my head suddenly begins to spin. I rest my hands on my thighs as I take a moment to regain my balance. The man might as well be a statue wearing faded rags and worn out leather boots because when I look back up, he's still standing there.

We stand there in silence, staring intently at each other all stiff and shaken, the both of us wondering who will be the first to take a move. I watch his fingers fidget, his eyes taking blinks every other second. He looks down at my torn clothes, then back up at my face, as if expecting me to do something. I feel the corner of my mouth twitch.

Then he looks down towards the ground. I follow his gaze to a gleaming dagger with a black hilt and a glinting blade laying by my feet. My hand slowly reaches down and grabs it, picking it up with trembling fingers. I look back up at the man, whose face has gone stark white.

"Umm…" I say, not knowing what to do. "Are you-"

I'm interrupted by his ear piercing shriek as he takes off running in the same direction his companion went. In that moment, I realize the person who knows more about what's going on than I do has just fled, ruining my chance to figure out what's happening. I immediately take off after him with the dagger still in my hand.

"Wait!" I call out, running with one hand holding up my dress. I look down and realize that I'm doing it and let go of the matted skirt. I leap over a fallen log and call out again. "Wait!"

The man, a short and stocky fellow, glances over his shoulder and yelps at the sight of me. He puts his hand to his head to keep his flapping hat from flying off. "Dopey!" He bellows. "Doc!"

He begins to trip and stumble over his own feet as he weaves in and out of the tress. He glances over his shoulder again and screams again. "Happy!"

I pump my arms harder, tilting my head in confusion as he continues to shout words similar to these. "Sneezy!"

"Stop!" I yell. "Wait!"

The little man only quickens his pace and darts ahead, letting out distressed squawks every other second. I lengthen my strides and begin to gain ground, catching up slowly.

It then occurs to me that this person won't help me, regardless of if I caught up to him. In my moment of distraction, my foot hits a fallen log that seems to have materialized out of nowhere. A strange noise comes from the back of my throat as I'm sent toppling over the log, my momentum carrying me over in a flying pinwheel.

For a moment, it seems that I'm weightless and I watch as the world flips upside down with my face inches from the ground, my feet towards the sky. Everything hangs still in a frame of time, peacefully frozen in a moment of calmness. The dagger, which has flown out of my hand, floats upside down in the air a couple feet away. My skirt ripples in slow motion as my hands wave freely in front of me. I see leaves falling through beams of light streaming down through the branches high above.

Then time speeds back up and I feel myself falling. My back slams flat against the ground, knocking the wind out of me. My legs come down next, sending a jolt of shock through my entire body.

I groan and cough as I learn to breathe again, not knowing whether to clutch my chest or my stomach. My face scrunches up and I lie on my back, listening to the crunch of the man's footsteps slowly diminish until the only sound filling the forest is the wind brushing past the leaves. By the time I open my eyes, he's already gone.

When my mind manages to somewhat pull itself together, I push myself off the ground and stand up. My eyes scan the ground for the dagger, but it has disappeared among the weeds and shrubs covering the floor. My eyes look up and glance around as they take in the scenery. Which is basically tall trees, trees, and more trees. Trees with rough barks and thick trunks, some stouter than others. Their branches bend out at various angles, each one fighting for a spot in the sunlight.

Not a single other thing is in sight. I turn around, looking for some sort of sign that I'm not lost. A person, a road, a…I realize that I don't know what to look for.

I look to my left and take a step, then hesitate and take a step in the opposite direction. I look the right at the endless mass of trees. A sick feeling grows in the bottom of my gut. My head begins to spin and a question rings in my head. I think about it and try to forget it. But it sits there, in a dark corner in the back of my mind, waiting to be answered.

When am I going to know what's going on?

I conclude that the question won't be answered until I find someone. It then takes me about two seconds to decide to head in one direction and see where I end up, when my plans are interrupted by a voice cutting through the silence.

"Well, dearie, that was a rather amusing chase to watch."

I nearly leap twenty feet into the air and whirl around to come face to face with a short man smiling madly at me. His skin is scaly and leathery with an aged brown tone, showing signs of time gone by. He wears a leather vest with cloth sleeves hanging around his arms. His brown leather boots and black pants cover his skinny legs that jump up in excitement. His fingers lightly touch each other, with spaces between his palms.

I scream and turn to run away from the madman, when suddenly the ground beneath my feet opens up in a deep whole and I fall in. The moment my feet hit the bottom, the dirt magically fills in the empty space around me, leaving me immobile from the waist down. I scream again, this time not from panic, but from the sight of the dirt having a mind of its own.

I push off the ground with my arms, but to no avail, as my legs are lodged firmly in the ground. My body freezes in terror as I watch the man step in front of me. My arms forget how to move properly and they weakly continue their futile attempts to push myself out of the earth. My eyes meet the man's eyes, two green-grey irises that sparkle wickedly.

I can only imagine what he's going to do to me. Either bury me alive or bash me to death, while I scream for help that won't come. I can't decide which one I'd prefer.

"Now there's not need to panic," the man says, bringing my attention to him. "Unless of course you'd like to sit there thrashing around."

Fear has closed up my throat and I'm unable to make a sound. Instead a high squeak escapes from the back of my throat.

He takes this as a suitable reply and nods his head. "Well, if you want me to help you I'm going to have to trust that you won't run away."

For some strange reason, this calms me enough to get my voice working again. "I-uh-"

"Good," he says quickly and waves his hand.

I blink and find myself standing on top the ground, no longer stuck in a hole, the pressure around me legs gone. I squeak, stunned.

"How'd you do that?" My stomach turns inside me. Something clicks in my head as if I've met this person. Yet, at the same time he's a complete stranger. I look up at his hideous face. "Who are you?"

He lets out a high pitched laugh and his eyes widen, seeming amused by my stupefaction. He prances a spry step towards me. "You know who I am, dearie. You've just forgotten." He laughs again and points a finger me, with his other hand by his face, the tips of his fingers curled. "Do you even know who you are?"

"N-no," I stutter, panic in my voice. "Wait, how'd you get here? I didn't see-"

He holds up a hand to stop me. "Ah-ah-ah." His voice grows as he says, "You're asking too many questions. Why not just one?" He scrunches up his face and pauses as if for effect, before leaning closer and saying, "Or unless you don't want to ask a question. Too frightened to speak?" He laughs at my bewildered face. "The real question is, how did _you _get here?"

He watches as I open and close my mouth, unable to answer the question. I remember waking up on the hill, next to a tomb. I remember hiding in the old stables as the knights rode on by. How I ended up there, however, is beyond me. I want to say this out loud, but the look on the man's face makes me want to do otherwise. He stares devilishly at me, waiting for my reply.

Half of me wants to use this as a chance to get away and save myself. The other half knows that this man knows something about me that I don't. And I need answers right now.

"I don't know," I say, watching the man as he continues to smile. "I don't know who I am-"

"Yes, yes, I know that," he says. He throws up his hands in a gesture of excitement. "Since you don't know who you are and don't recall who I am, let me introduce." He bows down, one hand in front of his chest and the other out to the side. "The name's Rumpelstiltskin."

Silently, I say his name, feeling the word roll over my tongue. It feels familiar as if I've said the name a thousand times over. I've met this Rumpelstiltskin before, I'm assuming. He knows me. I stare at him, not sure of what to do. Then, I blurt out, "Who am I?"

He laughs again. "You're the Evil Queen, of course."

Suddenly I remember Robin Hood again. How he threatened to kill me, the Evil Queen. I remember the two men running away with terrified faces. I look up at Rumpelstiltskin. He steps towards me and I take a step back, putting out my hand in defense. "Wait, someone else also told me that."

His expression looks as if what I just said were the most obvious thing in the world. "Well, I'm not surprised. There's a lot of people terrified of the Evil Queen."

I mull over the thought in my head, confused. "But I'm not evil." I realize that maybe I've forgotten I'm evil. I think about it for a moment. "Wait, am I?"

He looks at me and says flatly, his voice rising in pitch, "Well, why don't you tell me?"

I again, can only watch as he continues to grow entertained by my speechlessness." He laughs as my mouth speaks without me realizing. "Do you know who took my memories?"

"Of course, dearie. Do you miss them?" His eyes glisten with a look of satisfaction. "Do you uh—want them back?"

Does he have my memories? I'm in such shock that I don't realize that I've spoken aloud. I feel blood rush to my face.

"You seem rather…baffled. Now, let me ask, why do you want your memories?" He says.

"I need to know who I am," I say nervously, staring into his cold, grey eyes. I get the feeling that he's keeping something from me.

"Well, if you want them back," He says, quieting his voice. "Come to my mansion and I can get your memories back!" He stands up straight. "Come find me when you're ready, dearie."

"Ready for what?"

He takes a step back and jumps up again in excitement. "Why, ready to answer all of your questions. You see, right now let's let things simmer a little. Come to me after you've got a chance to learn more about this world. Yes, yes. Come when you're ready!"

"I'm ready right now," I say, realizing how much I want everything explained. I want to know why someone threatened to kill me. Actually, two people. I want to know why there were knights roaming about. I want to know why I woke up at the top of that hill. "Do you have my memories?"

"Well, since you seem to want them so badly, then it shouldn't be so bad to take a little stroll on over to my mansion, right? Right?" He says, leaning back on a leg and pointing a finger at me. "I'll expect to be seeing you soon then."

"Wait, can I have at least one question answered right now?" I say quickly. I watch as he looks back at me, considering the question. I wonder whether or not I've irritated him.

"Uhh—what is that?" He says, his voice small and flat.

My throat closes up for a second as I take in Rumpelstiltskin's full appearance as a man not to be messed with. A man who most likely always gets what he wants. It's in his eyes, his walk, how he holds himself up, and I can only imagine the things that he's capable of. I do my best to keep my voice steady. "What is my name?"

"Why, dearie," he says, opening his mouth in a wide grin, revealing yellowed teeth that only add to his mad nature. "It's Regina."

Before I can say anything else, he disappears in a cloud a black smoke. The spot where he stood, empty, as if he had never been there at all.

I stand in my spot wordless and confused as ever. I try to comprehend what I just witnessed. I try to grasp the meaning of the situation. A million questions swirl through my head, muddling my thinking. And of course there's one that I realize I should have asked: Where is his mansion?

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	3. Chapter 3- Now

**Sorry for the long wait! Hope you guys enjoy!**

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**Now**

I become aware that my incessant shivering isn't from my stunned state after my encounter with Rumpelstiltskin, who made my skin crawl with uneasiness, but from the dwindling heat of the setting sun. A bright pastel orange is spilled across the sky, giving everything a sort of transient golden glow.

I wrap my arms around myself and blow out a thin stream of air, watching as it condenses in front of my face. The ground grows cold and damp beneath my bare feet, which are sore from wandering, and I look down at my thin dress trembling in the faint breeze.

Sighing, I continue to trudge along, rubbing my arms in a futile attempt to create heat. I tilt my head back and watch as the heavens fade into blackness with little pinpoint stars gleaming through. The trees and undergrowth around me morph into shadows, forming looming black figures with bent branches and knobby stumps.

_Hopefully this all works out for the best. Then whatever life I used to live can just go back to normal. _I reassure myself. _This isn't _that _bad anyway. Other than the cold, it's not terrible. Things could be much worse._

My knees begin to feel stiff as the temperature continues to plummet. I desperately look around, searching for any signs of nearby help, but my eyes only meet the silhouettes of trees standing in the dark. For a moment, I picture two pairs of gleaming eyes and fangs gleaming in the moonlight. I squeak and quicken my stumbling step, as my eyes dart around for any creatures lurking by.

A chilling gust of air rustles through the trees and my eyes widen, my senses sharpening as I begin to panic. A twig snaps behind me and I whirl around, my arms up in self-defense as I prepare to stare into the face of an animal determined to devour my limbs.

My eyes only meet darkness.

_No, there is nothing there. _I tell myself. _You don't need to worry. Just keep moving and hope you can find some shelter. It's okay. Tomorrow, you just have to go find Rumpelstiltskin and he'll give you back your memories. And then everything will be explained. _

The sound of my hitched breath seems amplified in the heavy silence that hangs over the forest. I take a deep breath and tell myself to keep my breathing controlled. I try block out the outside world for a moment and think of what I'm supposed to do.

I hear Rumpelstiltskin's sharp voice cutting through my brain. _Come to my mansion and I can get your memories back. _

I shiver again, this time not from the cold. How come he knew so much about me? I didn't even know my name and he knew…well, everything. He said I was the Evil Queen as well. _The _Evil Queen. I think back to my encounter with Robin Hood and the two short men. They all called me the Evil Queen. I try wrap my head around it. What did they mean by 'Evil Queen'? I'm not evil. Am I supposed to be evil?

Something brushes in the leaves overhead. I picture a dark shadow crouching above, staring down at me with beady eyes. Slowly inching bony hands and claws forward, ready to strike…

My feet instinctively take off as I begin sprinting for my life. A wave of panic surges through my veins, sending boost of energy through me. I navigate my way around fallen logs and up sloping hills, moving my legs as fast as I can.

Something was back there and I need to get away from it.

I barrel forward recklessly, my blood boiling with anxiety. The moon flashes in and out of the tree tops as the forest flies by, the wind blowing my hair back as I run.

Then my energy begins to drain. My legs slow, feeling numb and tired. My breathing grows heavier and I my arms tremble as I continue to weakly pump them. The air around me suddenly feels colder and the pressure of the silence presses in on my ears. I tell myself to keep pushing, to get out of here.

My foot hits a something hard and I barely manage to catch myself before my legs give out beneath my body. However, I make no attempt to soften my fall with my arms as I collapse onto the cold ground, landing on my chest.

I lie there, my cheek resting on the soft dirt while I stare into space, calmly breathing in the open air. The trees around cast shadows that blanket the ground, while the scattered light of stars illuminate patches of earth in between.

My chest rises and falls and I feel my heart slowing, gently beating against the damp soil. Around me, the forest becomes peaceful, no longer laden with figments of my imagination. Everything just seems serene and asleep, like a scene of tranquility frozen in time.

I roll myself over and stare up at the sky, watching the large canvas of millions of unreachable lights, shimmering in the dark.

_What am I doing? _I ask myself helplessly. I gaze up to the stars as if they hold the answer. My heart sinks as I realize I'm alone. I'm useless to myself. I don't know who I am and where I come from. The only thing I really know is that my name is Regina. Everything else that defines me is gone. My only hope is to get my memories back.

_And I have to go find Rumpelstiltskin to get them back, _I think bleakly to myself. The aura that the man carried around him made me uneasy and I shudder at the thought of having to face him again. Whoever he is, well, I never want to see him again.

Except for the unsettling fact that he has my memories. I blink a couple of times, watching a light streaks across the sky. For a moment, I'm captivated by the enormity of them spilled across the heavens, winking through the dark.

I bring up my hand across my chest. What am I going to do? I watch as a cloud timidly drifts overhead, momentarily obstructing my view. I lie, waiting for it to pass, but after what feels like an eternity, it still hangs in the way, and I give up.

Pushing myself off the ground, I scoot back towards the nearest tree and prop myself up, paying no mind as the rough bark scrapes against my back. I bring up my knees to my chest and lean my head back, closing my eyes as I take in a long breath through my nose.

_My name is Regina, _I tell myself. _My name is Regina. I'm…an evil queen. _

The thought is so absurd I immediately scoff at it. Queen? Queen of what? I roll the notion of being royalty through my head, trying to fathom being a queen, living in a big palace surrounded by hundreds of guards in shining armor.

No, I can't be a queen. Why would my memories be gone if I were a queen? Did someone steal them? I sit, pondering everything, my thoughts scrambling through my brain, trying to make sense it all.

I continue to puzzle over my identity before a wave of exhaustion overtakes me and I drift into quiet, dreamless sleep.

* * *

I awake in a state of confusion, trying to figure out where I am. It takes me a moment to recall last night's events. I scrunch up my eyes as I inadvertently move my head into a beam of light streaming down through the leaves, momentarily blinding myself.

Around me, the forest looks foreign, filled with trees of differing sizes and shapes. I look around in an attempt to figure out which way I can last night, but in all directions, everything looks the same. It's not long before I find myself wandering again, thinking back on yesterday.

The top of the hill was where everything started. I close my eyes to try get a better picture of it. There was a big tree and a grave. Or at least, I think it was a grave. I try to imagine whose it would be. Maybe a loving mother who loved to pick flowers and died of old age. Maybe a merchant who caught the plague while traveling for his business. Or maybe it was the grave of a young stable boy that tended the stables down the hill.

Then there were the knights that rode by, searching for someone. Someone dangerous. They disappeared and I ran into the forest, only to have an arrow whiz by my face, missing me by mere millimeters.

I briefly relive the moment I met Robin Hood, recalling how he wanted to kill me…and something about justice. I crease my forehead as I look down at myself, noting that I'm still alive. So he didn't actually kill me. He just left. I make an effort to try remember his face, but the whole memory seems cloudy and distant.

And then of course the two little men…who were also going to kill me. But then they ran away. Somehow the sight of me made them forget all their intentions because they were terrified of me. Was it because I'm an…evil queen?

Then Rumpelstiltskin appeared out of thin air and disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Magic smoke. I recreate the scene in my mind, picturing the smoke curling around his feet, blossoming upward, enveloping his entire body, then dissipating into nothing, leaving only emptiness behind. He must be some sort of magical wizard, I assume, but more importantly, before that he promised me to give me back my memories. I just had to go to his mansion first. Easy enough.

I put everything in a list. _So I woke up on a hill next to a tomb, was threatened and almost killed by the man called Robin Hood, chased after two little men, encountered Rumpelstiltskin who told me to go to his mansion where he promised to give me back my memories. _

I try to think of an explanation of how this came to be. Of course, I come up empty handed, after all, what explanation is there? I'm completely and utterly stumped.

The forest buzzes around me and birds pass by overhead, casting fleeting shadows on the ground. Green moss grows over fallen logs and in patches on tree trunks. The ground is covered in patches shrubs and scattered with dried leaves fallen from the towering trees. Small bugs buzz around, occasionally swallowed by a bird swooping down from above.

I don't know what to expect. Each direction I move is a hesitant move forward and each step I take is a step into the unknown. I continue forward, climbing over fallen trees and branches, fueled only by my curiosity. My heart flutters with anxiety, worrying I'll never make it out of this forest.

My stomach grumbles and I suddenly realize how famished I am. I can't recall the last time I ate so I stop and look around for anything that seems edible.

When I finally conclude that eating the bark off the trees isn't a great idea, I move onward.

_I need to find Rumpelstiltskin's mansion. _I remind myself. How I'm going to find it, I have no idea, but if I find anyone I'll ask them. A multitude of arbitrary thoughts swirl around my mind as I try think of what his mansion might look like, where it is located, how I'd get there.

I lose track of time as I keep wandering on, gazing ahead to see where I'm headed. But when my toes stub enough rocks and roots sticking out of the ground, I decide to direct most of my attention to where my I place my feet.

For a time, I'm so focused on looking at the ground, making sure I won't trip over anything, that I don't even see the road ahead of me. It's only when I glance upward for a moment to check my surroundings that I spot it. The wheels turning in my brain screech to a halt.

I do a double take, blinking, unable to comprehend what I see. There's a dirt road stretching both ways to either side of me. Is this the same dirt road as last time? No, maybe it's a different one. I raise my gaze and discern a cluster of small wooden homes sheltered by the trees just beyond the path. My heart rises in my chest.

I take off sprinting, my spirit drawn to the houses. Drawn to the hope. I zip past the road, the wind blowing from behind my back as if urging me in the direction of the village. Suddenly I forget my empty stomach and my sore feet, thinking only about the prospect of meeting someone who can help me.

It's a miracle.

My feet move faster and faster, not knowing how to stop as I approach the village. My instincts takes over my legs and slow them to a halt as I plow into the middle of the homes, my face glowing with gaiety.

The homes are built in a small half circle, pointing in around an old well, which stands solitary in the center. Up ahead is a steep hill, sloping upward, blocking whatever is on the other side. The wind continues to blow up towards the hill, sweeping up dead leaves along the ground, carrying them until they disappear over the ridge.

I look around, my heart beating in excitement, scanning the grounds for a sign of life.

"Hello?" I call out, standing on my toes. "Is anyone here?"

My voice is met with silence. I turn around looking at the other houses, calling out again, "Hello?"

Silence.

I tentatively move towards a home, which stands quietly silently next to a tree stump, where a piece of unchopped wood stands next to broken axe.

My heart flutters as I approach the home. "Hello? Is anyone here?"

I look up, expecting to glimpse a face peering out window, but instead find nothing. Just as I get close to the front door, I realize it's slightly ajar. I glance over my shoulder at the village, before turning to face the door and pushing it open.

The hinges creak as it swings open. Timidly, I step inside, peering around for any signs of life. To my right, a small table sits next to a tiny wooden cabinet. To my left, dried flowers and herbs hang from the ceiling above narrow bed sheeted with an aged, red blanket. But other than that, nothing.

I take another step inside towards a loaf of bread sitting on a shelf, next to a pitcher of water. Without thought, I snatch it and begin tearing away at it. It's stale, but still edible. I grab the pitcher of water next to it and take a sip. The water tastes old, but my parched throat couldn't care less.

Once I finish, I look around the small space of the house, searching for anything that might be of use to me. In the corner a small heap of cloth lies by another pile of fabric. I walk over to it and pick it up. It takes me a moment to realize what the piece of cloth that unravels before me is. A cloak. I grab the other pile of clothes. A dress unfolds in my hands, dirty and worn down, but still in a suitable condition.

I examine it closer. A long white skirt hangs below a thick, sturdy waistline. Flowing white sleeves, cuffed off neatly at the ends dangle down at the sides.

I gaze down at my own dress, the red velvet torn from numerous tangles in branches. The backside trails behind me on the floor, gathering up dirt and leaves in the process. I look down at the dress in my hand. _Might as well._

When I finally manage to slip off my old dress and pull myself into the new one, I toss my old one to the floor, nudging it into the corner with my foot. I grab the cloak, clipping it around my neck and over my shoulders, and step outside.

The village stands desolate, filled only by the breeze and the quietness. Maybe this is an abandoned village, deserted for the sake of finding a new start; left to wither away and crumble into the very dirt that it came from. Regardless of what it was, it's still evident everyone's gone.

My heart sinks and all anticipation that boiled inside of me dies. I'm still alone. I stand in the middle of the houses for a moment, speculating on what to do next. I can't stay here. I need to find someone to help me find Rumpelstiltskin's mansion.

The wind abruptly changes direction, blowing my hair in my face. I brush it out of the way and suddenly am hit with a thick stench. My stomach lurches.

I bring up my cloak and cover my nose. The smell fills my nostrils and my head begins to spin. _What is that? _The source of the foul smell is not entirely clear as the wind makes it seem everywhere at once. I push the cloak harder against my face, as if it would make a difference.

My feet take off, stumbling up the steep hill, my only goal to get away from the smell. My legs burn as the incline increases and I tire with each step. I cough, gagging as the smell envelopes me and it seems like an eternity before I get to the top of the slope.

Then suddenly my eyes are met with a horrid sight. I stop in my tracks, staring horrified at what I see before me. My body goes numb and I lose the ability to breathe as I stand paralyzed. My other hand flies up to my mouth, trembling. The forest seems to have frozen. My heart stops beating.

I tell my feet to move, but the shock of what I'm seeing suppresses my ability to move. My heart begins racing and I tremor. A wave of panic hits me and my hands fall from my face.

_Run. Run. Run._

And I take off running. This time, running away from the village. My feet seem weak under me as they stumble down the hill and back towards the road. My emotions surge and take over me, tears beginning to stream down my face.

I only manage to make it to the other side road before I crumple to the ground, shaking so that the world is a blur. But I don't see the world anyway. I only see the sight of what was on the other side of the hill. The sight that has branded itself into my mind.

The sight of a mass of dead bodies of men, women, and children still in their clothes, lying limply in a pile on the dirt, beginning to decay away.

* * *

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